Three finalists named for Florida Education Commissioner

The former head of two national school choice organizations, the outgoing education chief from Indiana and the president of a Kentucky university are the three candidates on the short list to be Florida’s next Commissioner of Education.

The Florida Board of Education will interview the three finalists on Tuesday and could make a final decision when it meets on Wednesday.

One of the top candidates is Tony Bennett, the outgoing leader of Indiana’s school system who pushed a series of the Florida-style policies, including an A-through-F grading system. He was unseated in last month’s election.

Another finalist is Charles Hokanson, Jr., a consultant who previously worked for the U.S. Department of Education and led two national school choice groups. In his application, he pledged to be a “national voice for state-level reforms as they have been successfully advanced in Florida.”

The third finalist, Randy Dunn, is the president of Murray State University in Kentucky. He was previously the state schools superintendent in Illinois from 2004 to 2006.